Propeller



Oct. 18, 1938. G, F 2,133,853

PROPELLER Filed Jan. 27, 1937 Patented Oct. 18, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,133,853 PROPELLER' Gustav Feigc, Des Moines, Iowa Application January 27, 1937, Serial No. 122,621

2 Claims. (Cl. Gil- 35.5)

My invention relates to the art of propellers and is especially designed for use as an air propeller.

I The objects of my invention are to-provide an i air propeller of simple, durable and inexpensive construction which may be used for such purposes as, for instance, air plane propulsion, and specifically, to provide a propeller of this character in which a given amount of power applied to a propeller shaft will give an increased forward thrust to the vehicle to which it is attached.

A further object is to provide means whereby the operator may readily, quickly and easily control with great accuracy the amount of forward I thrust created by the propeller without stopping the propeller in its rotation, or the engine by which the propeller is driven, and further in this connection, to provide means whereby when the propeller is applied to a vehicle such, for into stance, as an airplane, the speed of advance of the airplane may be quickly and easily retarded to a substantial degree by counteracting the advance thrust of the propeller without stopping its rotation, and whereby said control device may 55 be effectively utilized in'the landing of airplanes on landing fields of limited area.

Figure 1 shows a side elevation of my improved propeller, the cylinder being shown in longitudinal sections. V

50- Figure 2 shows a longitudinal sectional view of a portion of my improved propeller and illustrating my improved air control device in its closed position.

Figure 3 shows a rear elevation of my improved 35 propeller, the shaft being in section; and

Figure 4 shows a detail sectional view on the line 4-4 of Figure 1.

Referring to the accompanying drawing I have used the reference numeral M to indicate the 40 propeller shaft which may be rotated in any ordinary manner, preferably by being connected to an engine. On this shaft is fixed the sleeve l3.

Fixed to the sleeve are two propeller blades indicated generally by the reference numeral 2 and 45 being arranged spirally around the shaft. These blades are equally spaced apart .and they are inclined from the shaft forwardly and outwardly at an angle of about 45. each blade is a forwardly extended rounded pro- 50 jection I, and immediately in the rear of the central portion of this rounded extension 1 is a curved depression 3. These depressions, as clearly shown in Figures 1 and 4 of the drawing, are substantially circular and extend from a 55 point in advance of the cylinder l to a point a At the forward end of slight distance in the rear of the front edge of the cylinder, and the blades in the rear of the depressions are straight, as shown in Figure 4. The reference numeral I indicates a cylinder open at both ends. The rounded projections I of the propeller blades project beyond the front open end of the cylinder and, as shown in the accompanying drawing, this cylinder is supported by being fixed to the peripheries of the propeller blades.

In practice I have demonstrated that with the propeller blades arranged as just described, in combination with the cylinder and when the shaft is rapidly rotated and the airplane or other vehicle to which itis applied is being advanced, then the forwardly projecting edges of the propeller blades will engage stationary air through which the propeller is being advanced. This air, in passing through the cylinder, will be acted upon in such manner that air will be compressed 0 against the conic propellerblade and that this pressure will be greater at the rear than at the front of the cylinder, thereby increasing the amount of advance thrust of the propeller.

I have also provided a means for controlling the passage of air through the cylinder without stopping the rotation of the propeller blades. This comprises a hub l0 slidingly mounted on the sleeve l3, and a collar 8 which is held against rotation as hereinafter explained. Fixed at one end to the hub I are two spiral conical springs l I and l 5 made of flat metal. They are extended forwardly and outwardly to points in engagement with the rear end of the propeller blade 2, and rotate with the propeller blade. The construction and arrangement of the springs II and I5 is such that they normally hold the hub III at its rearward limit of movement, and the spaces between the coils is suflicient to permit airfrom the propeller to pass freely through said spaces. When the hub lll'is moved forwardly the spaces between the coils are narrowed and when the hub I0 is at its forward limit the spaces are closed and the passage of air rearwardly through the cylinder is prevented.

For controlling the movement of the closure springs I have provided two extension arms l8 connected with the lugs 12 hired to the collar 8. These arms are slidingly mounted in the sleeves l9 and these extension arms may be jointly moved forwardly and rearwardly by manually operated means not shown. The stationary sleeves l9 serve the purpose to prevent the twisting of the arms l8. In this'manner the housing 8 is prevented to rotate. However, it maysllde forth and back during the manipulation of the control. In practice with this control device I have demonstrated that when the control device is in its open position, as: shown in Figure 1, it will not offer any appreciable resistance to the passage of airrearwardly through the cylinder and,- hence, will not appreciably reduce the amount of forward thrust caused by the rotation'of the propeller. I have, however, found in this connection that the sound waves caused by the rapid rotation of the propeller within the cylinder will, as they are passed rearwardly through the cylinder, be, to a considerable extent, broken up by the control device when open, and that the noise is thereby substantially decreased. This is due to a considerable extent to the fact that the spring control device rotates with the propeller.

One instance in which my improved control device is of great advantage is that when the propeller is used for propelling an airplane or the like, and it is desired to land upon a landing field of restricted area, the operator may, without stopping the rotation of the propeller or the engine, manually operate the closure device to wholly or partially stop the flow of air through the cylinder. When fully closed the entire area of the front end of the cylinder forms a resisting body which operates rapidly and eflectively to retard the speed of the airplane, and the operator may, by manipulating the closure device, retard the speed or the airplane as much or as little'as may be desired, and in the event that the operator should retard it too much, the operator can instantly open the control device and immediately accelerate the speed of the airplane. By this means the operator has much greater control of an airplane in landing than is possible with the present method of controlling the speed of the propeller blades, and the operator is thereby enabled to land safely upon a much smaller landing field than is possible with the propellers now in common use.

I claim as my invention: 1 1. An air propeller, comprising a rotatable shaft, a series of propeller blades operatively connected to the shaft and extended spirally around the shaft, the bodies of the blades being inclined outwardly and forwardly, and a cylinder surrounding the blades and closely fitted thereto, and a means for manually controlling the thrust of the propeller, comprising a series of substantially flat springs arranged in spiral conical formation, their forward ends being'in engagement with said blades and their rear ends slidingly sup- Ported on said shaft, the spirals of said springs being arranged in planes parallel to the planes of said blades and the spirals of the springs being normally spaced apart far enough to permit substantially uninterrupted passage of air rearwardly through the cylinder, and the spirals of said springs being also so arranged that when their rear ends are moved forwardly the spaces between the springs will be approximately closed to prevent the the propeller and thereby reduce the thrust of the propeller without reducing its speed.

2. An air propeller, comprising a rotatable shaft, a series of propeller blades operatively connected to the shaft and extended spirally around the shaft, the bodies of the blades being inclined outwardly and forwardly, and a cylinder surrounding the blades and closely fitted thereto, a means for manually controlling the thrust of the propeller, comprising a series of substantially flat springs arranged in spiral conical formation, their said blades and their rear ends slidingly supported on said shaft, the spirals of said springs being arranged in planes parallel to the planes of said blades and the spirals of the springs being normally spaced apart far enough to permit substantially uninterrupted passage of air rearwardly through. the cylinder, and the spirals of said springs being also so arranged that when their rear ends are between the springs will be approximately closed to prevent the passage of air rearwardly from the propeller and thereby reduce the thrust of the propeller without reducing its speed, and means for slidingly supporting said springs upon said shaft.

GUSTAV FEIGE.

passage of air rearwardly from forward ends being in engagement with moved forwardly the spaces 

